Monthly Archives: July 2015

This week a maniac stabbed six people at a “Gay Pride” parade in Israel.

He had just been released from prison for a 2005 stabbing of three other people at the same parade .

In response, among the chorus of condemnations from Jews in every direction, from the man in the street to the Prime Minister of Israel, religious Zionist leader, Rabbi Chaim Druckman said:

“(He) is a lowly murderer and by his (religious) outward appearance he also adds an awful desecration of G-d’s name.”

“Our rabbis teach us that everyone who has mercy for mankind is known to be of the seed of our forefather Avraham , and everyone who does not have mercy for mankind is known not to be of Avraham’s seed. The behavior of (the maniac) is the complete opposite of Jewish behavior, and he must be treated severely likely every criminal.”

This same week, an Arab family’s home was firebombed. A child died, and others in the family were grievously injured. Although not yet captured, it appears that the attackers were also Jews.

The survivors of this attack are being treated by the best doctors in the finest medical facilities available.

Like the stabbing attack above, the condemnations are resounding and widespread.

The full power of the Israeli police and courts are in play to arrest, try, and punish those who commit such vile acts.

Rabbi Druckman is uncompromising on this abomination, as well:

“I find the need to once again say these are criminal acts that are anti-Jewish, anti-humane, and of course anti-ethical,” said Rabbi Druckman. “These acts must be condemned and denounced.”

In a call for action, he added, “the security forces must do everything to quickly find those behind these awful acts and to bring them to justice.”

“Rid evil from your midst,” he said in conclusion, quoting Deuteronomy 17:7.

Sadly, but predictably, the Arabs are mostly silent on the first case. Their preeminent institutions tend to throw gay people to their deaths off the roofs buildings, hang them from hydraulic construction cranes, or saw their heads off with dull knives.

On the second case, that of the firebombing of a family, the Arabs, true to form, blame the Israeli Government for the act of savages.

On July 31st 1941 the order to plan a “Final Solution to the Jewish Problem” was formally placed into motion.

SS Chief Hermann Göring wrote a letter to his director of Reich Security Services, Reinhardt Heydrich, directing him “to carry out all the necessary preparations with regard to organizational and financial matters for bringing about a complete solution of the Jewish question in the German sphere of influence.”

He further ordered Heydrich to prepare and submit to him the resulting overall plan to accomplish this very important task.

As of the Summer of 1941, the “German sphere of influence” already covered over a dozen countries… home to some Eleven Million Jews. Many of whose communities dated back over one thousand years. Some were to twice that old.

By January of the following year, the overall plan was ready. A coordinating conference was held in Wannsee.

The attendees included:
• Heydrich, as chief of the Reich Security Main Office (Reichssicherheitshauptamt-RSHA)
• SS Major General Heinrich Müller, chief of the Gestapo
• SS Lieutenant Colonel Adolf Eichmann, chief of the RSHA Department of Jewish Affairs
• SS Colonel Eberhard Schöngarth, RSHA commander Government General in Krakow, Poland
• Major Rudolf Lange, commander of RSHA Einsatzkommando 2, then deployed in Latvia
• SS Major General Otto Hofmann, the chief of SS Race and Settlement Main Office.
• State Secretary Roland Freisler of the Ministry of Justice
• Reichs Cabinet Ministerial Director Wilhelm Kritzinger
• State Secretary Alfred Meyer of the Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories
• Ministerial Director Georg Leibrandt of the Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories
• Foreign Office Undersecretary of State Martin Luther
• Interior Ministry State Secretary Wilhelm Stuckart
• State Secretary Erich Naumann (Office of Plenipotentiary for the Four-Year Plan)
• State Secretary Josef Bühler of the Office of the Government of the Governor General in German-occupied Poland
• Nazi Party Chancellery Ministerial Director Gerhard Klopfer

Heydrich crisply described the disposition of the “Endlsösung” to the attendees in this way:

“(D)uring the course of the Final Solution, the Jews will be deployed under appropriate supervision at a suitable form of labor deployment in the East. In large labor columns, separated by gender, able-bodied Jews will be brought to those regions to build roads, whereby a large number will doubtlessly be lost through natural reduction. Any final remnant that survives will doubtless consist of the elements most capable of resistance. They must be dealt with appropriately, since, representing the fruit of natural selection, they are to be regarded as the core of a new Jewish revival.”

A friend sent me a story the other day about how Chrysler cars could be hacked and controlled. This is not a trifling deal like the Iranian nuke deal either. This is a big important deal if you happen to be driving one of these vehicles that is connected to the Sprint wireless program Uconnect.

Hackers can cut the brakes, shut down the engine, drive it off the road, or make all the electronics go haywire.

Uh oh.

But to be fair, it seems that the only reason that the article is about Chrysler products is because the investigators are

a tiny team that lacks the funding to keep buying cars and the time to break into them.

Uh oh.

Sprint, as network controller could block the hacks, but has not said if it will do so, just that it is working with Chrysler.

I can save the team some footwork and expense though. Government Motors onStar is a huge liability. At the very least to your privacy, and that’s NOT if it’s hacked. Turns out that onStar collects quite a lot of information on vehicles and sends it to Government Motors. Well, and third parties, not defined or designated. But hacked, why yes indeed. An article came out yesterday that onStar can be hacked and it seems Government Motors is far less willing than Chrysler to acknowledge or discuss fix. Government Motors told the hacker who contacted them it had fixed the vulnerability.

Kamkar said he discussed the fix with representatives from GM, but their efforts failed to thwart the attack method he uncovered, which uses a device he built and dubbed ‘OwnStar.'”

“They have not yet fixed the bug that ‘OwnStar’ is exploiting,” he told Reuters.

Beyond that, some people are incredible creatures called “nerds”, and they read changes in things called “Terms and Conditions”. Some of these “nerds” have blogs, where they put in regular people language what these things say. One such “nerd” detailed what he found out about the changes in onStar’s terms and conditions and what it meant for regular humans. Not good stuff, but if you use or have used onStar you might want to give it a read.

The right wing conspiracy publication known as USAToday came out with an article a couple years ago talking about the pending installation of “black boxes” into the moving data collection devices that used to be known as the family car. USAToday does a nice job of detailing what all can and will be collected and again how it can be used. The black boxes are not the same as onStar, this is a separate avenue of data collection. Although we have nothing to fear from this. Nothing at all.

Fears have been “blown out of proportion,” says Mukul Verma, a former top GM safety expert who is now a consultant. “I don’t think there is any chance of it being used or misused without people’s permission.”

Sure makes one wish for the good old fashioned cars doesn’t it? One you could just drive. Yeah, I did when I needed to get a car a couple years ago. I knew exactly what brand I wanted, and hunted and hunted and hunted for one. Most of the dealerships I stopped at or contacted gave me the same information. “I’m sorry ma’am, but since cash for clunkers happened those are hard to find. In fact good used cars that people wanted that they could just buy outright are VERY hard to find. But we have a really nice Chevy Cruze, or this gently used Chevy Volt. If you don’t mind a little singeing, we have almost all the burn smell out of it now. Can give you a really good deal on it.” Ok, I admit, I made up the last part about the Volt, but not the rest of it.

Yep, I do love technology, I really do. I adore my phone, my computer and my tablet. But let’s be honest, they have vulnerabilities. I suppose if you choose to get one of those cars with that kind of technology you can decide for yourself the risk to benefit ratio.

But any time you get something with mechanical moving parts and introduce electronic control into it I think there is probably a risk. We should each get to decide if we take the risk or no.

That being said the last electronic I wish to draw your attention to is the “smart gun”. From Bearing Arms today comes a article about rifles using TrackingPoint technology. A married couple has figured out how to hack into TrackingPoint. They can use a wireless connection to change the information and even the target the gun tells the shooter they are aiming for. Wired details all the work the couple did and what all they can do with it.

Smart gun technology, you know, the kind gun grabbing politicians keep telling us will keep us “safe”. It will prevent the “evil handguns that only have a purpose to kill” from doing so, according to Democratic Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, who wants them banned. Seeing as how they have no “sporting purpose”. Smart gun technology, like having to wear a special watch to be able to use your gun. What could go wrong with that? Or your gun has to recognize your fingerprint to use your gun. While you may be annoyed your spouse used your toothbrush, I’m pretty sure if they need to use YOUR gun, it is important.

I don’t hate technology, but it does seem we are losing choice in just how much of it is allowed into our daily lives. And it seems to me, that when the direction that push is coming from is the government, the results won’t be good. After all, what could go wrong?

By their computerized nature, any computerized “smart” gun can be rendered inoperable just as the TrackingPoint was in this test, and some smart guns are rumored to have been designed from the ground up to be rendered inoperable with the push of a button by either the manufacturer, or by government itself.

Just a small reminder here that v*ting is still open until Saturday in Lucky Gunner’s effort to give away the money it’s due to receive from the Brady Center. Since it appears the Bradys have given up their appeal of the court judgment against them, the money is no longer theoretical. A bunch of lucky gun groups are going to get a share.

Although The Zelman Partisans have slipped a few places in the ranks, we are still comfortably ensconced in the middle of the pack. CCRKBA and Pink Pistols have moved farther ahead of us, but the NSSF has dropped farther behind. All in all, and thanks to you, we’re doing great for an obscure special-interest group that didn’t even exist this time last year.

The biggies lead the pack, of course. The NRA/ILA and Gun Owners of America are looking to take about one fourth of the prize between them, with some big state groups close behind. But remember — it’s not winner-take-all. Lucky Gunner is awarding the prize proportionally, so even a small vote total can earn a contribution. And just by being up there, we’re getting known.

You can only v*te once per IP address. But even if you’ve already v*ted, you can still spread the word via your social networks, blogs, etc.

Thanks for supporting TZP!

—–

And when it comes to supporting us — and getting yourself some cool gear — don’t forget our new custom kippahs; they’ve gotten raves from those who’ve bought them. And then there are those sleek Kershaw spring-assist knives. I use mine every day; it’s got a super-sharp blade that keeps its edge even under considerable abuse.

A few of you haven’t yet created logins, which you need in order to get your discounts. In some cases, this may be because the email with the login link (sent to your PayPal address) bounced. If you want a login but don’t have the link, please drop us an email at tzpstore-at-zelmanpartisans-dot-com and we’ll get it taken care of.

Moses was a great, but reluctant leader. Born to Hebrew slaves, he was raised in the royal courts of Pharaoh. When tasked by G-d to lead his people up out of Egypt and to advance towards their destiny, he made excuses.

On the one side, Moses was “the most modest of men”, and yet was guided by a strong moral compass. When he finally acted, he inspired greatness in others.

On the other, these twelve tribes had a well-deserved reputation as ”a stiff-necked people”, with a propensity to retributive violence and passion. They also had an unique ethical tradition centered about one, incorporeal, unlimited, god. A loving, mysterious, and jealous god.

Any earthly leader of these people had to be, even if he had to be pushed into it, strong-willed to the point of ruthlessness.

These sons of Abraham and Sarah had been freed from nearly three hundred years of bondage in a pagan land.

They had seen miracles wrought on their behalf, over and over, to break the will of Pharaoh. They saw Egypt’s finest soldiers swept away in the Sea.

They complained and were given an oasis of water and dates to ease their travels. They had been fed with quail and manna in the desert. They were protected by day by a pillar of cloud and by night by a pillar of fire.

They had been attacked by Amalek and, despite ignoring G-d, and thereby delaying their response, had defended themselves, with at least partial success.

They had spent forty days refining themselves to receive the Torah at Sinai, and came directly before the Creator, to learn how to serve him, and thus how to teach the World by example.

First and foremost, they learned that He was G-d. He was One. There was no other. Period.

In all this we witness the birth of a Nation like no other, with a destiny like no other.

Yet a mere forty days later, many of these same people had turned their back to G-d.

While Moses was receiving instruction from G-d, and the Tablets of the Law were fashioned, an idol of gold had been fashioned and sacrificed to, and many were preparing to return to Egypt in an orgy of debasement.

Still, Moses pleads with G-d that they not be utterly destroyed. G-d relented, leaving Moses to resolve this rebellion.

Moses destroyed the Golden Calf, grinding it fine dust, and scattering it upon the water. The people drank of the water in a trial and judgment for their sin.

He rebuked Aaron for his weakness in allowing the people to prevail upon him in returning to idolatry. Finally, Moses called to those of the people who still were loyal to G-d to come to him.

Seeing those who still were immersed in sin before G-d, Moses ordered Levite warriors to cut down some three thousand rebels in their midst. In so doing, the Levites, having proved their integrity, above tribal or familial loyalty, became ordained as priests to G-d, until the End of Days.

At Sinai, G-d had (figuratively) taken the Israelites as his beloved, much like a wife. He revealed himself in ways unique to their bond. He plots a course with her for their life together. A great adventure. He placed himself directly at her guard, forgiving slights, providing for everything and destroying those who threaten her.

Then, barely through the honeymoon, G-d finds his bride has turned away and sought out others… former suitors, and a path of debasement. He withdrew, still in love, but deeply betrayed. He hid his essence away once again.

The next morning Moses told the assembled Israelites that he would again plead with G-d to spare those remaining. Moses told G-d that if what had been done was not enough, that if G-d still intended to destroy these people and start over, that he, Moses should be blotted out, as well.

G-d responded that “I will erase from my book whoever has sinned against Me.” G-d then struck the people with a plague to drive the point home.

He also told Moses that from here on an angel would go ahead of the people, rather than G-d’s own “Presence” (the Shechinah), the pillar of cloud in the day and the pillar of fire in the night that had thus far guided and protected the Israelites in the desert.

Moses informed the people of the departure of the Shechinah from their before their encampment. The people, realizing the severity of their betrayal mourned and feared its loss.

Moses then moved his tent about one thousand yards away from the others, and referred to it as the “Tent of Meeting”. The Shechinah then returned and rested above the Tent of Meeting, signifying when it did, that G-d was meeting with Moses. The Israelites, seeing this, did not dare approach, but rather bowed down from the entrances of their own tents.

Moses asked G-d to reconsider his distancing from the people. G-d responds by expressly prohibiting idolatry again, and details a series of specific commandments binding on the Israelites.

God instructed Moses to carve a second set of Tablets to replace those Moses had broken in fury and despair. God then affirmed that he would resume being slow to anger, and quick to forgiveness, towards the people.

Over the next forty days and forty nights on the mountain, G-d reiterated his Covenant with the Israelites to Moses, in detail.

G-d declared that he will drive the current inhabitants of the land promised to Abraham and his descendants (Amorites, Cana’anites, Chitites, Perizites, Chivites, and Jebusites) out of this land for the entering Israelites.

G-d warned Moses against the Israelites making any agreements with the prior inhabitants, nor mixing with them. All altars and monuments to their false gods were to be destroyed. The Israelites were to take possession of, and dwell in, this land, as people apart.

At Moses’ instruction a beautiful Tabernacle was constructed to serve as a portable “resting place” for G-d as the Israelites prepared to enter and secure their land. Elaborate and precise orders of sacrifices and services were established.

Aaron and his family, as a subset of the Levites became ordained into a priesthood to conduct these services correctly. The remaining Levites are tasked to support them in their duties. The Tabernacle is erected and the Shechina now rests there.

Soon thereafter, two of Aaron’s sons, Nadav and Avihu, deviated from these precise orders, and bringing “extraneous” fire “each in their own pan”, not as commanded by G-d, were instantly themselves consumed by fire. Such was the dangerous power of this Tabernacle and that which “rested” there.

All in all, six hundred thirteen mitzvot, specifically binding on this new Nation, were taught to the people at Sinai, in critical preparation for their great mission; to be a light unto the Seventy Nations of Mankind.

Each of the twelve tribes was given duties and well trained in their execution. This rabble of miraculously freed Hebrew slaves was being crafted into a well-oiled and sophisticated machine.

The town of Kadesh Barne’a; the mountainous gateway to the Land of the Edomites, was only eleven days march from Mount Sinai. Just beyond that lay their goal.

So barry and kerry are very busy patting themselves on the back for their “historic” agreement reached with Iran. It’s a really great deal. For Iran. As for the US, we have now taken sides in the Sunni vs Shia middle east face off. I have heard more than one comparison to the 1938 Munich agreement signed by that waste of oxygen Neville Chamberpot, oops, Chamberlain. And appeasing tyrants has always worked out so well. The sanctions against Iran will be lifted (ok, so I like the photo), the ketchup tycoon has backed off the anywhere anytime inspections they touted, and basically we get nothing. Not even the four prisoners being held by Iran. They didn’t even come up. Pity, it would have given ketchup, er kerry, one more thing to cave on. Even some of the other muslim countries don’t like the deal. Our allies no longer trust us, no one need worry about the obama regime attacking them (unless it’s conservatives).

But at least before this disastrous deal giving the country which has vowed to destroy the US and Israel, nuclear power is final, it will have to go through the US congress. Well, no.

Turns out barry and kerry decided to submit the agreement to the United Nations BEFORE it could go through congress. Which prompted sputtering and outrage from those invaluable protectors of the American people, like the carpet wetting John Boehner. They whined that congress would continue to do their job no matter that the “agreement”had been submitted to the UN. What I wonder, is it that congress thinks they will do? It seems barry and kerry think it’s more important that the agreement go to the U.N. because it affects other countries. Hmmm, okaaayyy, if that’s how it works, let’s be consistent.

It seems on the 16th of July this year the Israeli Sanhedrin called barry to appear in front of the court on the 9th of September for for what it says are “criminal offenses” against the Jewish people following the passage of the Iran nuclear deal. The Sanhedrin accuses Obama of “deliberately promoting genocide for the Jewish people.” Well, and the American citizens too. Link is well worth checking, it has the documents. That was even before the Sanhedrin found out that barry and kerry gave Iran the technology to make sure Israel couldn’t take out their nuclear facilities.

Ok, well, if we go by ketchup kerry’s reasoning for bypassing congress on the nuclear agreement,

“Well, they have a right to do that, honestly. It is presumptuous of some people to say that France, Russia, China, Germany, Britain ought to do what the Congress tells them to do,” said Kerry. “They have a right to have a vote. But we prevailed on them to delay the implementation of that vote out of respect of our Congress.”

The nuclear agreement with The Islamic state of Iran will certainly effect Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Egypt and pretty much every other country since who knows what the crazies will do. If we are going to yield American sovereignty to the U.N. over the nuclear deal, shouldn’t we yield the American President and maybe even throw in the Secretary of State to be turned over to the Sanhedrin?

You know, I’m concerned about the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty that barry had kerry sign. Since this regime rules by executive action, and executive order, why should we think that in their opinion that two-thirds of the Senate needs to approve it? I mean, it affects other countries as well. Congress may well stomp it’s fancy shoes, but I don’t really expect them to do anymore about that than they will this bypass.

It seems barry and kerry are very invested in making sure that Begin’s daring raid can not be repeated.

On 16 July 2015 a observant member of the religion of peace shot up military recruiting center in a strip mall, and then proceeded on to a Naval reserve center. The price tag for this particular member of the religion on peace having a rampage is one dead sailor and four dead marines. I suppose the correct way to put it is “having a rampage”, perhaps “pitching a hissy fit”? Well, if the government initially said it had it may have had no connection to terror, it can lead to confusion. To paraphrase a couple of things I read on FaceBook that may account for this confusion perhaps it was “Fluffy’s” yells of “Jesus loves you and died for your sins” as he killed the service members that confused the trained government investigators. “Fluffy” is the name I’m choosing to use as I also chose not to give slime the fame it desires. These attacks follow attacks in Little Rock, Fort Hood, The Naval Shipyard. I’m not sure why the government had such a hard time determining that the attacks were related to Islam “The Religion of Peace” considering that ISIS had been sending out tweets as warnings according to Pam Geller who posted some nice screen shots. Of course poor little Andrea over at MSLSD tried to lead her 4 viewers down the garden path by attempting to persuade them that “Fluffy”was just your typical rural Tennessee woodsman, what with hunting, fishing and all. The fact that “Fluffy” worked at a nuclear power plant for 10 days didn’t seem to distress little Andrea nearly as much. Those MSLSD news readers are as confused as BHO about things. It could be because The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria doesn’t actually have anything to do with Islam according to BHO’s Orwellian speech. In fact, after the terrorist attack by “Fluffy” the only comments made by BHO were regarding Ramadan.

“Michelle and I would like to extend our warmest wishes to Muslims in the United States and around the world celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr,” a statement from the president read.“As Muslims mark the end of the month, they are reminded that Ramadan is a time to reflect spiritually, build communally, and aid those in need. While Eid marks the end of Ramadan, it marks a new beginning for each individual — a reason to celebrate and express gratitude on this holiday.”

Perhaps no one had told him about the yells involving something about Allah and the snackbar. Yes, I got that one off FaceBook too.

Why is this important? Because BHO does not yet realize who the enemies of America are. Now, I will admit that perhaps he doesn’t consider the enemies of America as his enemies. Perhaps they aren’t, since he just gave them nuclear weapons and a pile of money and the technology to defeat any attack Israel might wage against the reactor. But they are in fact, enemies of the country of America.

There was an interesting opinion piece in Slate, that points these attacks on our military personnel state side are not considered terrorist attacks, but valid targets. Why? Because how many times BHO has bragged about taking out their training centers. They are paying back in kind. They don’t much care that while the people in their training bases are armed to the teeth, our recruiting stations and military bases were made toothless by the rabid Clinton regime. Yes, the Clinton regime decided military bases would be safer if everyone was a victim waiting to happen. Liberals do not love our military I do not believe. BHO, as the Clinton regime, has been no supporter of the military. It’s almost as though he sees them as the enemy.

Ordinary everyday Americans have a much different view of our military than this though. Around the country ordinary, everyday American Sheepdogs have been showing up armed to protect THEIR military recruiting stations. I believe quite a few of those showing up are veterans of the military themselves. This is happening in different places around the country, not just in Chattanooga.

If Social Security, which has never participated in the background check system, uses the same standard as the VA, millions of its beneficiaries would be affected. About 4.2 million adults receive monthly benefits that are managed by “representative payees.”

So now the Clintons have disarmed a group of people that were willing to give their lives to protect this country and BHO is disarming a group of people made vulnerable by age, probably a good portion of them Veterans as well.

Popular Communist opinion on guns.

These people are not the enemies of America. These are not the people that are shooting up military bases and recruiting stations.

If you can not identify and name your enemy, you can not win the fight. It is as though BHO has identified his enemy, and we have met this enemy. It is US. ~~Pogo.

Next item for the TZP store — targets. And we’d like you to help us create the first design.

Here’s the idea: We’ll find five of the dumbest, most idiotic anti-gun quotes we can and print them in the rings of the target. Finding the quotes is where you come in. Please use the comment section on this post to suggest your favorite brain-dead hoplophobe remark.

If you’re the first to suggest a quote that makes it onto one of our targets, you’ll get a free packet of the printed targets.

Rules are simple:

1. The quote must be short enough to fit in the rings of a 8-1/2 x 11 (or maybe slightely larger) target.

2. It must be verifiable (providing a link will help but isn’t required).

3. To have a chance at a free target pack, you must be the first to post it in comments.

I just got my own yarmulke last week and it’s a very nice, well-made, attractive item. Being a Gentile female, I’ll display, rather than wear, mine. But we’ve had multiple purchases from happy customers who plan either to use them as intended or gift them to people who will. We just lowered the shipping cost on the “buy three and save” offer, also.

Those who know me well know I don’t cry easily. I’m generally pretty stoic, and with a few exceptions, I tend to get enraged rather than weepy. Lately it’s been a different story, however. This year has been a difficult one in many ways, and I’ve found myself moved, touched, enraged, teary eyed, and downright hysterical crying at times. There’s a lot going on, both in my personal life and in the world around me, in general, and I seem to be getting a lot more emotional in my old age…

So I cried recently at the vicious stabbing death of Kevin Sutherland earlier this month. Those of you who are unfamiliar with the incident, the 26-year-old man was on a metro train on Independence Day when an 18-year-old savage attacked him for his cell phone. Jasper Spires repeatedly punched, kicked, and stabbed Sutherland and left the former Congressional intern bleeding on the train floor as other passengers watched.

I didn’t just cry because this tragic incident ended a promising young life.

I didn’t just cry because as someone who lives in Northern Virginia, I consider Washington, DC very much my city.

I didn’t just cry, because as a Virginian I enjoy my right to carry my tool of self defense, both openly and concealed with no impediments.

I didn’t just cry because, the moment I step on the Metro and make my way to my Washington, DC, that respect for my rights no longer exists.

No, all of this is tragic, but nothing new.

What I did cry about was the disintegration of our society exemplified in this tragedy. This is what I find most tragic. This is what has kept me up at night as I thought about what I would have done had I been on that train on Independence Day.

As a veteran, I have a certain attitude – a certain mindset, if you will. I joined the military after college graduation rather than getting that high-paying job at a brokerage I was considering, because I felt I wanted to serve the nation that gave me so many opportunities I would have never had as a citizen of the former USSR. I wanted to protect America’s people and America’s Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I certainly didn’t do it for the paltry pay and the time away from my family. I took my oath with that goal in mind, and I took it seriously.

That attitude drives my thoughts about that day. Would I have intervened? Would I have attacked the thug and beat him to within an inch of his life? Would I have saved Sutherland’s life? I certainly want to believe I would not have sat idly by and done nothing. I carry my firearm with the sincerest hope that I never have to draw it, but with the practiced attitude that should I have to, I would not hesitate to save a life. I like to think that attitude would carry over even when I am unarmed in a metro car. I’m not a weak, small person. I have no doubt I would have been injured, but I’m pretty damn sure I would have stopped that savage punk one way or another. Or at least tried my best…

But no one did anything. They all sat there and cowered. They all watched, and did nothing to help this guy, who got savaged because this barbarian punk wanted his cell phone. They stood by and did nothing.

Police consistently advise bystanders not to intervene.

Call the police, they say.

Do not confront the violent savages, they say.

Translation: let the victim die! Rely on us! We’ll protect you.

My aching arse.

And you know what? Most of these sheep do exactly that. From the tragic Kitty Genovese murder in 1964, to the attack on Marianne Seregi in which only one small woman had the courage to yell at the attackers (who were unarmed, by the way), to this current travesty…

…they did nothing.

Don’t tell me it’s some kind of psychological effect. I don’t want to hear excuses. This is simply a shift away from personal responsibility. It’s a shift away from courage, from humanity, from self-reliance.

And that’s what’s really tragic about the murder of Kevin Sutherland, other than the obvious loss of a young life! It is an overall societal abdication of every shred of self-reliance and accountability.

I weep for the kids who are taught from a young age not to stand up to bullies, but tell a teacher instead, even as they cower while the larger kid pummels them.

I weep for the children who are told they must wait for a nice policeman to arrive and protect them, rather than do their damnedest to defend themselves.

I weep for the cowards who are too afraid to stand up for themselves and for others, choosing instead to record brutal attacks with their damn smart phones while they wait for the police to arrive!

I weep for a society that reacts to brutal attacks on defenseless individuals by calling for government force to make them even more defenseless and vulnerable to armed thugs!

I weep for the pusillanimous weaklings who accept the message that they must rely on anyone else – be it big government, police, or anyone other than themselves who chooses to be armed and to take responsibility for their own safety and for the safety of those around them – to protect them.

It’s not any kind of psychological effect. It’s decades of indoctrination into the idea that you must rely on others for everything from putting food in your mouth and providing for you, to your very life.

It’s laziness.

It’s the unwillingness to be responsible for your own survival.

It’s the perception that everyone else is responsible for everyone else – their brother’s keeper – it takes a village.

It is this parasitic inability to fend for oneself that’s killing our society.

Someone else will protect me.

Someone will ensure I don’t starve.

There’s got to be someone who will intervene.

I’ll leave it to other people to carry a gun and to train with it. I’m afraid of guns. I’ll let others stand up.

Well, guess what, parasites! When you mewl to have the rest of us just as disarmed and defenseless as you are, there will be no one left to intercede on your behalf when a violent degenerate, who takes a large, steaming dump on the laws that you assiduously abide by and so stupidly insist others will obey, boards a metro train and stabs you to death while everyone watches in horror, because there’s no one around with the intestinal fortitude to help you!

You insist on disarming our military members while stateside, and they get slaughtered by frothing fundamentalist Islamic zealots. Just like they did at Fort Hood. Just like they did yesterday.

And then you will squeal and blame large-capacity magazines, the NRA, “gun fetishists,” and “loopholes” for the fact that this society has descended into a whining, spineless, triggering, social justice warrior-ruled swamp of hurt feelings and demands that someone, ANYONE but you, do something!

RIP, Kevin Sutherland.

RIP, GySgt Thomas J. Sullivan.

RIP, LCpl Skip Wells.

RIP, Staff Sgt. David Wyatt.

RIP, Sgt. Carson Holmquist.

RIP, Petty Officer Randall Smith.

Your government failed you by disarming you, but your society failed you worse – by both demanding that your government disarm you and failing to act on your behalf after the government leeches made you vulnerable at their behest.

And if you’re not weeping for the demise of courage, honor, integrity, and strength in our society, you’re not paying attention.

Co-blogger Sheila has been telling you about the highlights of her recent trip to Israel. One thing she hasn’t told you is this:

That’s a closeup of one of the niches in the Western Wall or Kotel — what Americans not-so-respectfully refer to as the Wailing Wall. The slip of paper on the upper right contains the names of each TZP founding member and blogger, the names of our families, and TZP’s name.

I was so moved when Sheila told us she did that. A famous quote connected with the Western Wall is: “There are hearts and there are hearts. There are human hearts, and there are hearts of stone. There are stones and there are stones. There are silent stones, and there are stones which are hearts.” And I must say that what Sheila did melted my sometimes-stony heart.

—–

Life has taught me to be cynical and unsentimental. Aside from having a soft spot for dogs, I tend to be one who avoids or questions things I find to be vague, “soft,” or emotional. I’ve become a “just the facts, Ma’am” sort of person when it comes to claims that can’t be well-defined or proven through a rigorous examination.

Reading novels, I skip the mushy scenes. I’m baffled when people make religious arguments based on their feelings and quotes from scriptures (just as they’re baffled by my expectation of hard evidence). When a salesman or a preacher wants me to “experience” something before I gather the data about it, I’m instantly on guard. When Dumbledore tells Harry Potter that “love” made his baby self invincible against the evil power of Voldemort, I cringe and hit the fast-forward button. In fact, the dreadfully overused word “love” is in general enough to set my BS alarm clanging. Give me the facts, Ma’am. Just the facts.

I’m not really that cold — I hope! I’ve merely learned through a lifetime of experience that feelings sans facts are often a trap, nothing more than a form of manipulation and deception.

Our gun-hating opponents are excruciating examples of this. Their wild emotional rantings, their claims of sentiment toward the victims of shootings (victims in whose blood they gleefully dance), their stubborn choice to remain ignorant about firearms, their complete refusal to sit down and think about how the laws they demand would actually work in the real world, their bizarre lack of reasoning … all are perfect examples of why feeeeeelings should aways be suspect. Especially when someone uses their emotions (or tries to manipulate the emotions of others) as an excuse to get something they want.

—–

Of course, feelings can be plenty useful. That hinky sense you get when you see a suspicious stranger or enter a dangerous place. That inner voice that screams, “NO!” even when a course of action seems otherwise perfectly reasonable. That warmth that floods you when you realize you’ve met someone you can truly trust. That rush of satisfaction when you know you’ve gone the extra mile and done good. All great, all needed.

But when it comes to discovering truths that lie beyond our immediate realm, feelings are no substitute for accurate, checkable data. Give me the facts, Ma’am. Just the facts. I’ll decide for myself what to feel about them, thank you.

So when I saw Sheila’s photo and heard her describe what’s on that piece of paper — a prayer placed in an ancient wall for the people of TZP — at first I didn’t know why I felt so moved. I don’t believe there’s a god standing behind that wall, seeing, hearing, and above all caring about us (fellow blogger Y.B. will differ, of course). I don’t believe that the stones of the wall or the words on those slips of paper have any mystical power. Yet I felt a power just knowing what Sheila had done. I felt the power of the stones and the words and Sheila’s action in placing TZP in such an ancient holy place.

But why?

Many reasons, I think. But here’s the core thing: We who hold fast for gun rights and the human rights to life, liberty, and individual sovereignty ultimately do what we do out of love. Yes, that mushy, highly suspect word. There it is: love.

Oh yes, we have facts and data and knowledge on our side. Unlike the overwrought, screeching enemies of freedom, we analyze the data, we look at the facts on the table, we project the consequences of proposed laws into the future. We ask, “How does this work? Or would it work?” Some of us know the physics (that is, the facts) of the making of steel or the ballistics of a shot. Some of us have studied the history of firearms or firearms laws. Some of us can cite firearm statistics or crime statistics off the tops of our heads. Some track and analyze upcoming laws or regulatory actions. We have different areas of expertise when it comes to guns and gun rights. But generally, we tend to be people of the fact. We’re passionate about our commitment, but many of us got here by looking at the data or studying the history and knowing why we’re here.

Yet of course we don’t do what we do — we don’t join and stay in this endless struggle for freedom — because of facts alone. That wouldn’t be enough.

We stand here against all manner of hate and all attempts to smash our freedom. We stand like the stones of that ancient wall not only because we know we’re right. Being “right” is never enough; any moron can think he’s “right” about anything and still run for the hills the moment things get tough. We stand because we love life and liberty so much that surrender is inconceivable. What we do, we do for love.

It has been said of the Western Wall:

Secure and invincible with its Divine strength, the Kotel holds its own — throughout the generations of change, transformations and vicissitudes, the horrors and the shocks, which visited the land and its inhabitants. The Kotel is in them and with them.

…. [L]ike a stone fortress, it stands guard, without moving and without allowing its inner dignity to be sullied. It remains pure and exalted in the strength of its very essence…

There are hearts of stone and stones with hearts. Those who stand for gun rights are a wall, a fortress. It was right that Sheila placed TZP names in that niche in the Kotel. The words on that slip of paper aren’t just our names, individually. Our names stand for everyone who cares unyieldingly about self defense, the defense of others, and the undying principles of liberty. Our names in that wall stand for the love that holds so many great hearts so strong in this crucial cause.